DxD: Hunter’s Rebirth
by iDVd
Summary: A seemingly inconspicuous second-year at Kuoh Academy tries to move at his own pace. But as time passes, he finds that it’s not all that easy to. In a town damned with supernatural activity, he’s caught in the thick of it than ever before and makes do with what he has left, no matter how little that is. M for mature themes. Supernatural (TV) elements – in no way a crossover.
1. I. Mainspring

**_Kuoh Town – Thursday Morning_**

There was a lone cabin in the woods. Birds, insects, and other gentle sounds of nature was present in the bright and early vicinity.

Inside the cabin, a body slammed heavily into a table, smashing it to pieces. It was a fair-skinned young man of seventeen years with light freckles on his face, forest green eyes, and short dark blonde hair left unkempt. He wore a standardized male Kuoh Academy uniform without the tie and low-top white canvas shoes.

A man with indiscernible features stood above him, growling, baring sharp fangs protruding from his gums; a monster. The boy drew and aimed a pistol at the man's forehead, but the beast kicked it out of his hand and then tried to slam his boot on the boy's chest. Just in time, however, the teen rolled out of harm's way.

Standing back up, the dark blonde boy had to immediately duck and swerve out of a low sweep from the side. There was another man with obscured looks gaining on him. He took a swing at the boy and the latter bends backwards out of the way. The teen then lunged with a machete in hand but the adult grabbed his arm.

With no time like tomorrow, the teen narrowly avoided another attempt at a boot to the chest from the man prior. His sidestepping and the missing spartan kick managed to break the hold he was in and he had quickly collected himself, retreating to the other side of the living area.

One of the men took off with blinding speed and appeared right in front of the high schooler's face. The blonde took a fist to the face, but followed with a nasty punch of his own, grunting with the exertion of it.

After successfully pushing his opponent back, the teen weaved through a fast haymaker. The first beast bared his teeth again, challenging the boy to take him on. Blade in hand, the latter was ready to lunge. He jumped and took his shot, but had just barely missed his mark.

It was a fist for a fist; a very intense fight.

While the blonde student passed by a kitchen area and traded fists with the second beast, there were two people strung up in there. It was a man and a woman; husband and wife. Their arms were tied above their heads and their bodies hung limply from their post.

Back to the fight, the boy landed a swift kick to the man's chest. Then the other adult came around and gripped the teen by the throat, but the latter shoved him away. He proceeded to drop low to avoid a clothesline from the monster and quickly caught him, barreling him through a glass cabinet as he did so.

Coming full circle now, the boy was again trading blows with the first man. He shoved the adult monster to the ground, but his opponent bounced back up smoothly, rounding on the young teen again.

The green-eyed teen successfully landed a left jab and a right hook to the fanged man's jaw, slowly building up the upper hand. He then suddenly slammed his forehead against the adult's head, managing to stun him for a time. He then capitalized on it and sent a mean left hook to the face, sending the man to the floor. The boy knelt with the quickness and sliced the monster's head off like a guillotine.

With his chest heaving, the teen noticed the other man crawling towards the corner. He followed his eyes and realization struck like a truck. His gun was still lying there like nobody's business.

He impulsively kicked an overturned table back on its legs and leapt forward with one foot. High in the air, the teen dropped harshly onto the man's back with both feet. With a blank and idle stare, the boy reached and pulled the beast by the hair and had promptly slit his throat all the way, managing to effectively decapitating him.

Dropping the body on the ground rudely, the blonde huffed softly and swiped up his gun from the floor and sheathed it back under his blazer along with the machete. He stood and turned to look at the married couple still hung in the air helplessly. Dark brows furrowed as the boy hurried over to their side.

**DXD: H'sR**

A towel was draped over the boy's face as it dragged the blood dripping from his cheeks. He sighed and folded the squeegee, handing it back to someone.

That someone was none other than the woman, who took it back with a grateful expression, "Thank you so much for helping us, young man. You really don't know the weight of what you've done for us."

To the side, her husband laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it while staring at the high schooler with the same look, "Please, you must tell us your name so we can thank you properly."

There was a pause. The teen cringed ever so slightly before he gave a bitter smile to the happy couple, "It's Hiro Takahashi, and I'm a second-year student at Kuoh Academy."

Nodding at his introduction, something was bugging the man for the longest time, "Say, what is a kid like you doing fighting something like those...things anyway?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe we can save the talking for a later time, because I really am late for school now after this whole thing," Hiro spoke back. It then struck as he cringed in slight pain, arching his back when feeling a tension in his shoulders.

The woman had noticed but never spoke on it, opting for a worried look only, "What if something like this ever happens again? What should we do? What can we do?"

"If you're so worried, then I'd suggest moving elsewhere. As quiet as this place is, it's such a hazard to not be careful. All I can say is that it won't just end here; there are plenty to go around..." The blonde trailed off, glad that they can take hint.

He put up a lazy hand in goodbye and stepped off of their porch, slinging his school bag over his shoulder. The husband and wife both waved at him, the latter clasping her hands, now with a pensive expression.

Hiro was on the move, heading into a trail that led to the outside of the woods. The boy craned and cracked his neck. That irking pain is still there as he had to roll his right shoulder all around. He was growing a bit confused at the sudden backache all of a sudden appearing.

_Did I...pull a muscle back there?_ Hiro mused in his head, referring to his stunt he pulled earlier with the table and the front flip. Whatever it is, he hoped it can leave him be in time for classes.

**DXD: H'sR**

**_Kuoh Academy_**

"Oh, looks like I'm in the clear," Hiro arrived on school grounds, now trying to find a path through the flood of students. They were all crossing the intersection before the academy and some even made it through the black gates of the school.

Hiro hummed and weaved through a small crevice made by a few male students, apologizing as he accidentally shoved a couple of them to the side. The blonde lightly cringed at their small glares, not too put off by them. He ignored others as he stepped through the courtyard.

Green eyes furrowed as the two-minute bell sounded off. His lips pursed as Hiro hurried in his leisurely walking pace. Everything looked okay as far as he could tell until the teen ran into someone who had stepped in his way.

"Hiro Takahashi, is that right?" The boy heard a woman's stern tone in front of him. Hiro looked to see a pair of violet purple eyes stare at him piercingly through their glasses.

He had swallowed a nervous gulp and nodded curtly, "Miss Shitori… Well, this was to be expected. L-look, I made it on time, see!"

Sona Shitori, the school's Student Council President, sighed with a palm to her face, "You don't understand, Takahashi. Of course you made it here on time, but you still neglect the many other times where you have not. I've put it off for quite a while now that it's finally time that I confront you properly."

"Okay, look... I'm not ignoring the past. If anything, I'm trying to fix it. I know that you're the president of the Student Council and you're just doing your job. It's just that…there's a little thing called grace," Hiro pleaded softly.

The stoic brunette could only exhale again with slumped shoulders, "You're such an excellent student, Takahashi. Grades, citizenship, top ten percent of your class–you name it. You're scary good. That's why I'm letting you off with this only warning. I'm doing this because I care for my students, and I don't want to see you fall hard because of measly tardies and absences."

Hiro breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank you. You won't regret this. I'll see to it that I'm here on time in the future."

"Hm, please do so. And with that, have a good rest of the day, Takahashi. You're excused," Sona dismissed Hiro, the latter thanking and waving to her as he took off for his first class. Then someone appeared next to the president as the two of them peered at the retreating form of Hiro.

"See? You sense it too, right? He's such a sweet boy, so you really needn't worry about him. As independent as he is, Hiro knows what he's doing," Said a more smooth and seductive woman's voice. The person then giggled as the two witnessed Hiro apologetically waving at a random girl in the hallway before moving on, blissfully unaware of her lustful eyes trailing his body.

The violet-eyed president could only shake her head as she glanced at her new company, "And pray tell me, do you know what you're doing, Rias? This so-called 'plan' of yours is very risky and it could wind up in his death if you're not so careful."

Rias Gremory, the buxom redhead with blue-green eyes, flinched slightly as her right hand clenched in her crossed arms, "Yes, I understand the weight of the situation. But it's just that I have no clue on what he wants. He's too much of a mysterious character to pick up any clues from."

"And that explains your sudden interest in the boy," Sona said to her long friend, an inquisitive brow lifting.

"Precisely. You know me so well, Sona," Rias responded. Her face grew a smile as she watched her junior leave with a longing look. That power is so very undeniable, and it's making her anxious and more eager to see what happens next.

**DXD: H'sR**

**_Class 2-B_**

Hiro tapped the sole of his shoe on the ground behind him before sliding his classroom's door wide open. He was met with plenty of stares, specifically from the women, as he just merely waved a hand before moving to his seat that was situated right in the middle of the class.

Plopping down on the chair, Hiro slid his bag on top of the desk and took out his note-taking materials. The dark blonde-haired teen opened his books and idly tapped a pencil to the side, awaiting lessons for the day. He rolled his neck and sighed annoyingly as the pain from earlier returned in his shoulder blades.

"Oh! Good morning, Hiro! You're finally here on time!" Said boy glanced to the side to see a beautiful girl with long brown hair tied in a red ribbon and matching eyes that gleamed as they saw the dark blonde teen. The brunette was accompanied by another pretty girl with shoulder-length pink hair with a white band and matching eyes with a darker tint of pink.

Hiro continued drumming his single pencil in a slow and rhythmic beat as he smiled gently at the two, oblivious to the line of pink dusting their faces as he did so, "Hey, guys. Yes, I am on time today. How are you girls doing?"

"We're doing awesome! Honestly, things couldn't be any more perfect," Katase, the pink-haired one, commented with a genuine smile. Her grin broadened as Hiro shot her a thumbs up with a warm expression of his own.

"That's good. It's nice knowing that at least someone else is having a blessed day," Hiro said very offhandedly. Katase's smile waned, mildly concerned about him and his suggestive tone.

Murayama, the other girl, was also worried but brushed it off more easily in favor for a waiting question, "U-um, Hiro? We were wondering if that thing about you joining the kendo club is still up for debate…?"

Hiro raised an eyebrow inquisitively when Katase hastily intervened with nervous laughter, "W-we were just wondering! I mean… I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind at all at you attending for a day. You don't necessarily _have_ to join, and that's only if you wish not to!"

"N-no, I understand. It's just… why me? I assumed it was for you girls explicitly, given the fact that the club is literally made up of females only. Why would the captains even recruit a male like me? Are they suddenly becoming coed?" Hiro asked reasonably with the most lost expression.

_He's too innocent for his own good,_ Murayama mused in her head, giggling to herself. Truth be told, Hiro was definitely not like the other boys in Kuoh Academy and had such a kind and pure heart and mind. He was very much like Kiba–their one and only Prince of Kuoh–in that sense, just more taller and...defined. She shook her head of those thoughts while softly slapping a creeping blush off her cheeks.

"Well, it's because you're our sweetie pie! It's definitely okay if you joined," Katase answered with the reddest face on the planet, "you're too precious for this world! We trust you enough to not try anything!"

Images of fighting, a table being smashed, a glass cabinet shattering, and a machete severing two heads with fangs from their bodies all flashed in Hiro's head. He then smiled abashedly and waved them off, "Uh, thank you?"

Katase nodded with her strong blush spread across her cheeks. Murayama giggled at her friend's embarrassment as she softly punched her in the shoulder. Hiro only grinned with a soft and short chortle at their healthy friendship.

It was then that their teacher came in through the door. Murayama and Katase hurriedly took their seats on either side of Hiro. The blonde laughed silently before he groaned, rolling his shoulders around. His back was acting up again. Maybe a muscle was pulled…

**DXD: H'sR**

_**Class 2-B – Thursday Evening**_

Classes rolled by like any other day for our blonde protagonist. Hiro breathed out and instinctively stretched after a long day, forgetting about his backache. He flinched and rubbed the aching shoulder as best as he could. The teen stood and packed his belongings along with the rest of his classmates.

But a finger came and tapped him on the shoulder before he could sling his bag around him. Hiro stopped and turned to find Katase smiling sweetly at him with Murayama right beside her, mimicking her friend's expression.

"Please, just think about it! I promise that it will be worth your while," Katase begged with puppy eyes. Hiro mentally sighed at her pushiness but showed a smile on the outside, teasingly ruffling her light shade of pink hair.

"I'm sure it will. Trust me, I won't let you guys down for a second. I really care for my classmate's feelings," Hiro said teasingly with a small grin.

The pinkette's face brightened as her brunette friend was visibly bothered by their interaction and pouted heavily. Hiro waved goodbye and walked past them, turning the corner of the door and into the hallway. The blonde male could only purse his lips in concentration as he cut through the swarm of students.

As he tried making his way through, however, he ungracefully bumped into someone. Hiro grunted and got a good look at who it was and it was none other than Kiba Yuuto, one of his fellow blondes in the entire school population.

Kiba himself gasped softly in shock as his eyes met Hiro's, a small smile then slowly creeping on his features, "Oh! Good evening, Hiro. Has the day treated you well?"

"Oh, uh, nothing that I can't handle. Although, I developed this weird backache from out of nowhere this morning. It really got under my skin while taking that quiz. I couldn't concentrate very well!" The two blondes shared a small laugh at Hiro's complaint.

"Well, those things tend to be a bother every now and again. I'm glad nothing else seems to be troubling you," Kiba commented with genuineness. His kind expression then momentarily dropped, gray eyes shining with concern as he eyed Hiro inconspicuously.

Hiro continued to chuckle, unaware of Kiba's sullen mood, "Yeah… So, what about you? Probably nothing, considering your status here. Speaking of which, aren't you a member of that Occult Research Club over there in that old school building? That's a tough one to get in, I keep hearing."

Kiba was out of his stupor and nodded at his friend, "I am, yes. And it's not like it's impossible to join. There's maybe a few… special conditions involved, but I've sworn to secrecy. Our president seems to really enjoy a bit of peace."

The dark blonde only nodded slowly with an understanding look, "I get it. Since it's an occult club, you've got to have all of those extra rules and kinks to really fit the image of such, right?"

"Uh, I suppose we do. I mean, it's only a school club. Nothing too serious about it. It's all in good fun," Kiba answered his friend with a slight chuckle. Hiro's quirkiness always seemed to get a good laugh out of him.

"Right, gotcha. Well, don't let me keep you from your duties. Clubs are beginning to start and I'm not in any as of now. Just heading on home to relax myself," Hiro said jokingly while arching his back a bit, starting to leave the hallway.

Kiba just offered a nod and waved with a warm smile, watching him stop to look at something on his phone. He then scrunched up his face in concern at his friend, sighing quietly before turning around to leave. But his mind lingered on what his true objective was.

He softly palmed his head, "Maybe I was too discreet. Rias was right all along. He really is such an anomaly. And that only brings trouble here in this town. Or perhaps we're just being too paranoid with all of this Fallen Angel activity going on. Just maybe..."

**DXD: H'sR**

**_Kuoh Town_**

The day has passed and Hiro was just almost out the front gates of the academy. Phone still in hand, he made to walk the intersection and to a quiet corner. The dark blonde kept staring down at his phone, his eyes following a tiny red shot flashing and traveling on what looked like a tiny map of Kuoh.

A sigh escaped him as he put away his phone. He turned to look back at the school with an unreadable gaze. His dark green orbs squinted sternly as his face hardened into a cold expression. His phone began to continuously beep inside of his pocket while trying to keep walking.

"I hear you loud and clear, Shirou," Hiro muttered while speed walking across a pedestrian walk. While on the other side, Hiro took a quick peek again at Kuoh Academy before continuing on his trek.

_For Kuoh to be their jurisdiction, they sure do a hell of a poor job at maintaining it. With all of these monsters lurking, I guess it's only up to me to clean up their mess,_ Hiro mused with an emotionless expression.

As the dark blonde passed a few bushes in front of neighborhood houses, he heard what sounded like a pebble being kicked across concrete behind him. Hiro instinctively turned around to inspect what that was but found nothing there. His face scrunched up in suspicion before cautiously carrying on, unfortunately missing a blur pass and turn another corner.

Then Hiro has caught a fleeting glimpse from the corner of his eye the sight of a light shining and quickly disappearing in the already darkening sky above. A tiny frown found its way on his face, "Well, now that's a bit out of place, even for a sign…"

**DXD: H'sR**

_**Kuoh Academy - Night**_

Over in the old school building just a bit off of the campus, there was Rias Gremory at a desk sipping on a hot cup of green tea while reading what looked liked a daily issue of a particular magazine she enjoyed. Another occupant if the room was a buxom young woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail by an orange ribbon and dark violet eyes.

"Hiro Takahashi… I sense such a great power within you, but what exactly is the question," Rias said to herself quietly. With Hiro on her mind, she was stuck reading the same sentence in her magazine over and over again and it's making her feel restless.

"Hm? Did you say something Rias?" Said the other woman with closed eyes and a gentle smile.

"Akeno," Rias started while addressing her accomplice, "Do you perhaps know anything about Class 2-B student Hiro Takahashi?"

Putting down an empty tray on an apothecary table, Akeno Himejima pursed her lips with a delicate finger on her chin, "Oh, of course. One of the most promising of our underclassmen. He's such a good boy. And a cutie, too! I just wanna eat him up!"

The Gremory heiress could only sweatdrop at the lewd expression of her Queen from across the room. She sighed and shut her magazine while putting it away under her desk. Propping her fists under her chin, her lips drew into a mysterious smile as her eyes glazed over.

"I just can't wait for the times to come, Hiro," Rias whispered under her breath as her smile grew and grew.


	2. II Flatline

**_Roadside, Japan – Friday Morning_**

A man in ragged clothes walked down an empty road through very hazy heat and approached what looked like an abandoned gas station. He pounded on the mart's entrance.

"Hello?" He called with a hoarse voice. Peering inside the rusted glass, he could not make out a single thing and could hear no noise coming through from the inside.

With bated breath and a nervous look, he rolled up his sweater over his right fist and broke through the glass. He entered through the broken double doors. The bell above chimed following his walking around the store's aisles.

He begins pulling snacks and energy bars from the shelves, along with bottles of water, and stashed them in plastic bags. Stopping in front of a magazine stand, he grinned slowly as a faint blush spread across his face. He took one issue and flipped through it, putting it away in his bags too.

Once he finished rummaging through literally everything, the man went to the counter and set down the bags. He spots the register and wings it to hit a button on it, laughing quietly to himself as it snaps open successfully. As he's busy looting the cash, a TV box overhead flicks on, showing only static.

The homeless man had shut it off, only to have a radio to his right suddenly turn on to white noise. His brows furrowed underneath his beanie as he reached a hand out to shut it off as well.

Then a high-pitched single tone attacked his ears from out of nowhere. He quickly clutched his head as his face grew terrified. As it continues, he dropped the money in his hands and crouched to the floor in groaning agony. The window above his head shattered as the sound resumed, and he dropped to the floor completely.

He hurriedly leapt to his feet in an attempt to escape, but more glass on the ceiling and walls shattered. He looked around cautiously through all of the noise and screaming he did before his eyes rolled to the back of his head, blacking out.

**DxD: H'sR**

**_Kuoh, Japan_**

'_Okay, this is getting out of hand,_' Hiro said while roughly rolling his neck joints around. He stopped abruptly and cringed when he did it too hard as an annoyed look appearing on his face.

Our protagonist was doing his best walking to the academy as leisurely as he could. But his recent and very mysterious back pain wouldn't let up and leave him alone. All night, Hiro had trouble dealing with it and he couldn't get a wink of sleep yesterday.

And that's why everyone in his vicinity had backed away at how scary he was looking. Dark bags were underneath his eyes, his shoulders sagged all the way, and his walking looked really sluggish. Some pedestrians took caution and left him alone to his devices, mistaking him as some delinquent who doesn't want to be messed with.

All in all, the day for Hiro is already ruined from the very beginning.

"Hiro! Wait for us!" Hearing the distant shout, the dark blonde turned around and was surprised at finding Katase and Murayama running up to catch him in his walk.

As the two finally caught up, Hiro was unprepared for a hug courtesy of the brunette of the duo as she laughed, "Hey, you're getting better at getting to school early! What's up with that?"

Katase looked miffed from behind the two, seeing as she wanted to beat her to the punch in greeting Hiro. Her cheeks were puffed out cutely at watching Murayama sneak a smug expression her way while Hiro was still stuck on replying to the latter.

"...Guess I just took Miss Shitori's words to heart. I went to bed earlier than usual, that's all," He finally answered, still a bit confused why she all of a sudden chose to hug him. Although inside, a tiny part of him didn't complain in the least.

When Hiro finished, the two girls both gasped in shock as they heard him, "What?! You actually got to talk one-on-one with Sona?" Katase asked with a shrill whisper.

Hiro blinked at their surprised looks, "Uh, yes? Why are you guys so bent out of shape about it?" He asked as the three of them started walking to school together. Was it mainly because she was technically in charge of the school activities right underneath the staff or something?

Katase and Murayama both looked to each other as the former spoke again, "That's pretty cool that you guys talked, even if it was school related. What a privilege…"

"Okay, you guys are being ridiculous about all this. I don't see what the problem is," Hiro reprimanded with a bemused expression. As the girls took offense to that, they arrived at the gates of the academy with their fellow students already making their daily commute.

Hiro drowned the talking down as he was deep in his thoughts while eyeing the floor when a voice spoke, "Hiro Takahashi?"

The aforementioned blonde stopped as his two friends and the rest of the student populace all gasped at who appeared in the middle of the courtyard. Hiro looked up from his thinking and saw a beautiful woman with long crimson-red hair and warm blue-green eyes standing there, a pretty smile on her face.

Just like that, Hiro's expression morphed into a blank slate, betraying all kinds of emotions. Subconsciously, his fingers twitched to his side as he calmed them down and kept to himself. He did his best to strain a small smile to not look out of place in front of everyone that was watching, especially the two girls with him and the other in front of him.

Behind Hiro, the co-captains of the kendo club appeared a bit tense for a moment, but then composed themselves. They were all caught off guard at the rare presence of one of the two Great Ladies of the school wanting something to do with Hiro of all people. What made him so special to warrant Rias's attention?

Said dark blonde blinked once, then twice as the redhead smiled warmly at him, "I don't believe we've properly been introduced all this time since the beginning of the year. I'm Rias Gremory. Sona has told me a lot about you recently, unfortunately just about how much you've been missing school lately."

Hiro, despite knowing how important this moment was–and not in the good way–to him, sweatdropped with an exhale of breath, "I thought I told her I was going to take care of it," Hiro then thought about it and continued with an unconscious look, "did she send you to tell me something else?"

Rias giggled and waved the boy's question off with the same smile, "No, nothing like that. I'm just here to greet you like I did with everyone else. I want a good acquaintanceship with all of my classmates, and I came to rectify that with you here."

_Not fooling me, Gremory. You think she'd at least better hide her identity. Rookie mistake,_ Hiro mused to himself in his head while keeping his polite grin, "Oh, that's cool. Nice of you to do that."

The heiress nodded with a chuckle, "It's our duty as seniors to look out for our precious juniors. So if you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask me or Sona. Is that alright with you, Hiro?"

All the boy did was nod silently, still grinning. Satisfied with Hiro's answer, Rias gave him another sweet smile and nodded before turning around and walking back towards the school. As if on cue, the surrounding students broke out into hysterics and gossiping the day away about what just happened.

Hiro plugged his ears with his thumbs and turned to the girls, "We have to hurry to class before things get more out of hand."

And so they did while trying to ignore all the points and stares aimed their way.

**DxD: H'sR**

_**Old School Building – Kuoh Academy**_

"Are you positively sure that that was the right move to make, Rias? If I were him, I'd say that was a suspicious thing of you to do," Sona said from her position from the couch, another bespectacled girl with long black hair and light brown eyes next to her.

It was nearing the end of the day and the Student Council head paid a visit to the Occult Research Club. Rias was at her desk as usual with Akeno serving tea and Kiba sitting on the other couch with a petite white-haired girl with hazel eyes who was snacking on a bag of sweets.

Rias sighed and leaned forward in her chair, "Yes, it was a terribly risky move on my part. However, I had to get the ball rolling somehow and, for whatever reason, that's what I thought was best. Like I said, as mysterious as he is, Hiro is such an interesting of a character to just ignore. I'd say he's a bit of a suspicious player myself as well."

Sona and Tsubaki Shinra, her associate to her side, both rose a questioning eyebrow as the redhead continued, "Have you ever stopped to think about the slightest possibility of what could be behind his constant tardies? Just what exactly goes on with him outside of school? You have track records of his history, don't you?"

The president of the Student Council nodded stiffly, "I do, and I have checked high and low on everything about him and nothing screams 'suspicious' to me. Besides this power within him, Hiro Takahashi is as innocent as a baby. What could you possibly have in mind that you think he's hiding something from us?"

Rias said nothing and only pondered on it some more before answering quietly, "...I'm just certain there's something up with him. I've never had this much trouble with anything except for…" Akeno gasped when the crimson-haired devil stopped herself abruptly then frowned heavily.

Kiba's usually kind gaze was troubled and fell down to the floor, thinking on his part when he talked with Hiro yesterday. His deep thoughts were then cut when he noticed the small girl to his right flinched and stiffened in her seat, "Huh? Koneko, what's the matter?"

Koneko Toujou's eyes widened a fraction as her lips parted, "...Mangy mutt."

Picking up on the meaning behind her tone, Rias and the rest all tensed. Sona was the first one out the door as she was followed by the rest of her fellow devils, "I should've known something was wrong…"

**DxD: H'sR**

**_Kuoh Town – Evening_**

Just outside the premises of Kuoh Academy, Hiro was heading down a lone street with no cars to big him. But something was off about him and the way he was leaving. His walking seemed rushed and ragged and he was breathing a bit heavily.

After crossing an empty road, Hiro's pace quickened and then turned into a full-on sprint. He turned a corner to a supermarket and jumped a fence blocking the entrance to a dark alleyway. Going unnoticed by him, a blue light flashed and peeked out from the thin fabric of his black trousers as it vibrated.

His phone was blowing up, but he didn't care. He knew what was going on and it relatively doesn't matter. As long as he's there and gets to the bottom of it, nothing's going to happen to this town.

While he ran, Hiro only breathed out in a sigh fashion as his mind remembered just a few minutes ago…

_...The bell signaling all classes were done for the day rang through the halls of Kuoh Academy. Already there was a flood of students who were all ready to go home or spend time in their clubs for the day._

_Hiro was still in the classroom, packing up his things while Katase and Murayama were talking in the background. Something about the kendo club and what kind of activities they were going to do together._

_Knowing the drill, the blonde turned back around to face them with a smile as Murayama blushed cutely, "...S-so?"_

_The only boy in the room rolled his shoulders in a slight shrug, "Well, I have given it some thought and if you would have me, I'd love to–" But his sentence was cut off by a beeping sound._

_Hiro grunted as his brows knitted in worry while checking his phone. But his expression fell into one of confusion and shock as he saw nothing but a set of coordinates and one word that spelled '**Now**.'._

_With that out of the way, the blonde male knows only one way to wiggle out of this one, "Sorry, that was family calling and I have to go," Hiro started, turning to find the creeping frowns on the girls' faces, "but I will say that I'd love to join the kendo club. It'll have to wait 'till Monday, since I have a busy weekend ahead."_

_Simultaneously, both of their faces lit up exponentially as Katase replied for the two of them, "Mm! Okay, sure!" With that, Hiro internally sighed in relief and bid them goodbye with a wave, the girls happily returning the gesture…_

...As the sun sets, Hiro pulled up in front of a neighborhood house on foot. He slung his bag from his shoulder and draws out a gun and a flashlight and walks up to the dark house. Walking up the porch stairs, Hiro jimmied the front door and entered the house. And–to his great disgust and guilt–almost immediately, he found two bodies dead and bloodied, jugulars ripped from their throat.

Eyes averting quickly, Hiro found a set of bloody footprints further into the house and had his gear at the ready. He idly checked a closet in a hallway it found nothing inside. Just as he closed the door, a man appeared from behind it and barreled into Hiro, disarming him and knocking him to the ground.

On instinct, Hiro pulled his strength together and kicked the man in the nose and knocked him backwards, allowing him time to unsheathe a silver knife from his backside. The second-year student did a kip up and slashed at the young adult, catching him on the back of his hand. The wound hissed and burned but it had no apparent affect as the man rushed Hiro and grappled him, pushing the blonde back into a wall.

Although in a tight predicament, Hiro could make out the man's features. The man had mid-length hair that is light brown and reached his shoulders and blue eyes. He wore a beige jacket over a plain white tee, navy blue skinny jeans with the legs overlapping a pair of dark brown boots. What was most discernible, however, was the pair of sharp fangs and claws he bared with no fear.

Despite the chokehold, Hiro has room to make a comment, "...Y-you wolves never seem to know when and where to quit, huh?"

With a slight chuckle and the wound on his hand beginning to mend, the werewolf exposed his fangs with a low growl, "I was correct in assuming that you're the one that's been causing trouble around here lately. You people will never cease to amaze…"

"I'm causing trouble? Yeah, and I'm also the one invading houses and tying up innocent people to feast on their hearts. Put me in cuffs now!" Hiro retorted, sarcasm leaking from his monotone.

The monster moved to attack again, and Hiro punched and slashed him across the face with his knife. They continued trading attacks and dodging until Hiro was thrown back on the ground. Just in time, the blonde teen evaded in time from a boot to the chest and tripped the werewolf up with a low sweep.

"For murdering my children," Hiro was confused by his words and was distracted by a feint attack from the werewolf, "you'll see to it that you pay," He barely had a small window to evade a swing from the monster and backed away as he did so. Hiro withdrew another pistol from his blazer and shot at the werewolf dead in the heart, but it had no effect at all.

As the teen was lost on why that was, the werewolf rushed with great speed and tackled him through a door and into a living room area. Hiro gasped in pain and rolled on the floor, his spare gun sliding across the other side of the room. The moonlight shone from the window as the adult werewolf took the young man by the neck and slammed him against another wall.

Hiro received a hard punch to the face as the monster spoke, "You ever think of hurting my sweet kin again," Hiro was hit again straight in the cheek, "don't, because you'll be dead before you start."

The werewolf threw Hiro across the room and into an entertainment center, glass and decorations falling on his person. The high school student gasped and arched his aching back in pain. He rolled on his side and wasn't given another second of breathing for the werewolf came in the blink of an eye.

Taking a clawed hand, the man promptly stabbed through Hiro's blazer and into his chest. Through the teen's screaming, the dark-haired werewolf twisted his fist inside of his skin, further aggravating Hiro's unfathomable pain. But in what seemed like a miracle, the dark room lit up in a bright and loud red light.

Through an otherworldly sense, the werewolf hurried over to the window and jumped. Looking back as the light show continued, the man unveiled his monster features again at the boy. He continued and crashed through the glass and onto the left side of the house, running away and disappearing into the night.

Although, however short that miracle was, it was too late. Rias, Sona and the others had made it there with not enough time to spare. Easily as she could make out in the day, Rias gasped and ran towards Hiro's bloodied body and knelt down while holding his head in her lap.

"H-Hiro…? No…" Kiba was another one that appeared affected the most with Akeno and Koneko adopting frowns on their faces. The only other blonde in the room sighed and buried his wavering face in his hands while averting his attention away.

Sona, on the other hand, could only rub the bridge between her eyes as he glasses pushed up to her forehead, "Rias, what are we going to do now? We can't just leave him here to die alone; he has family."

All was silent until the Gremory heiress clenched her fist and slammed it into the wooden floor, knuckles stained from Hiro's blood, "You're right. I won't leave him," That's when everyone aside from herself wore shocked looks as Rias pulled out a single red pawn piece from her skirt.

"Rias, no–" "Don't tell me no!" Rias cut off Sona with a stern voice and dark look unseen and unheard of between the two for a very long time. The redhead's expression then softened as she directed her attention to the dying boy in her arms and closed her eyes, hovering the chess piece in front of his stomach.

But it didn't react at all. Rias began to worry and repositioned the piece and was about to begin again. However, what took the group of devils by surprise was the seven other pawn pieces from her pocket levitated and joined the eighth. The crimson-haired princess shook it off and went along with her incantation.

**DxD: H'sR**

**_Parts Unknown_**

An enormous aura of energy in the form of bright white smoke flew through the darkest atmosphere of Earth. Aimlessly, it sped through the thickest of clouds and densest of airs. Howbeit, it abruptly stopped in its hovering. It felt a magnetic pull from all the way towards the main surface; a special force.

For something to attract its attention from all the way down there, there was something amiss about it. The bright entity shot down towards main ground and swirled around in its flight, leaving a trail of glistening smoke in its wake.

**DxD: H'sR**

"I order, in my name Rias Gremory, that you, Hiro Takahashi, become my servant. Lead a brand new life as my Pawn!" Rias finished. All eight pawn pieces embedded themselves into Hiro's flesh and inscribed into his soul, the conversion complete.

"Oh my… Rias?" Akeno said unsurely with a hand to her cheek. Her King stayed by Hiro's side and turned to the others, a strained smile plastered on her face. Sona and Tsubaki withheld their stoic expressions, both eyeing Hiro with unreadable looks.

The Student Council president was to say something to Rias if it weren't for a bright white light suddenly filtering the entire room. It was so blinding and hot to the devils as they bent down and clutched their heads in agony. It didn't help that there was a high-pitched ringing accompanying the light as well.

"Rias, what did you do?!" Sona screamed as best as she could, trying to communicate over the ringing. It literally fell on deaf ears as Rias was still trying to suppress the pain attacking her eyes and eardrums. The other devils weren't holding up as good as their Kings, being low-ranking devils and not having much of a resistance to light.

From the chaos, Hiro's lifeless body began to levitate in the air. His corpse was then surrounded in a shroud of light, cloaking him entirely. The boy's lips parted as light began leaking from it as well as his eye sockets.

With the devils, they began to see the light finally fading and the noise drowning out too. They breathed a sigh of relief before gasping again at what was happening to Hiro as his body began to descend. Rias and Akeno ran to him again before he fell but was late.

And to their immense surprise, they had to helplessly stand and watch Hiro land on two feet. Koneko, from the side, could hear his heart beating critically in his chest. She and rest watched with morbid fascination at Hiro lifting his head and facing them with a sleeping face.

Rias, after a few baited seconds, hesitatingly approached and reached out to the resurrected teen, "...Hiro?" But she reeled back in fright at Hiro's eyes snapping open, revealing glowing gold orbs of pure power.

The surprises didn't stop there as another bright but tolerable light shone, casting what looked like two large bat-like wings behind Hiro on the surface of the wall; devil wings. Everyone in the room, sans Hiro, couldn't believe their eyes. Such intense energy was radiating from Hiro like an invisible aura.

Craning his neck and cracking a few joints, Hiro stared directly at Rias as his astral wings and glowing eyes faded. The latter was rendered speechless at the brilliant sight of her new servant, wanting to go and embrace him all of a sudden. But it all seemed like a moment in time had frozen and the devils blinked once, only to find Hiro to have disappeared from thin air, the sound of wings flapping all that was left...

...No sound was emitted for quite a while. Not a word was exchanged between the devils at all during this time. Rias was left all alone where Hiro was just standing mere seconds ago. Her company left her be while trying to understand what the hell just happened.

"Impossible…" Tsubaki broke the damning silence in the air, usually serious eyes now completely shocked and confused about everything. Sona was inclined to agree with her Queen, finding the situation to be unheard of in all that's she's learned and seen with her own eyes as a devil.

Akeno made the brave approach and went to console her King and friend, "Rias, what now?" She received no answer, only a slow shake of the head with Rias standing there, lost in her own wandering thoughts as well.

**DxD: H'sR**

**_Parts Unknown, Japan – Night_**

A grown body was thrown like a ragdoll into a brick wall. The impact left a large dent in between the glued bricks and exposed the nightly air from outside.

The person fell to the floor and spit up a bit of blood, the bitter taste of iron left on their tongue. They then were suddenly gripped tightly by the neck and was shifted up against a part of the wall that was still in tact effortlessly. Their teeth clenched together in a struggle, baring sharp fangs and eyes slitted like a snake's.

Their sights were forced on a fair-skinned young adult male with azure blue eyes and short unkempt hair that is jet black. He was dressed in a mid-length beige trench coat over a plain white T-shirt, dark brown trousers with the pant legs rolled up that exposed his ankles, and low-top white canvas shoes.

Tightening his hold on the person's neck, the teen beared an emotionless expression on his face as his lips moved to speak, "Is this truly what they've stuck me with?"

He casually moved his other hand up to the person's forehead and planted his palm roughly on the bare skin. A bright light soon leaked out of their eye sockets as they screamed in agony at the burning flare, more irradiation seeping from their mouth while a sharp ringing followed the intense attack.

The male teen felt them fall limp from their dangling position in his grasp and so freed his hold on them. They fell unceremoniously onto the floor again, body loose and dead as the night outside.

Dull blue eyes stared lifelessly at the equally mortified corpse on the ground. The brunette lifted his head slowly and threw an arm behind him to stop the brutal swing of a random haymaker. He turned to find another person hell-bent on maiming him down to the bone, making it the umpteenth time tonight.

"You appear to be getting a bit ahead of yourself," The boy spoke tonelessly as he pushed forth and shoved his assailant off of him. They stumbled backwards yet recovered quickly and rushed at him again, but was unprepared for a fast knee to the gut.

The figure bent forward in pain and was struck again by a harsh elbow to the back. Falling to the unforgiving floor, they were laid flat on their stomach. But the teen lazily rolled them over on their back and pressed a foot on their chest.

Applying a bit of pressure and ignoring their pained grunts, the teen eyed them blankly, "Exactly what did you expect?"

From underneath the teen's coat sleeve came out a long, silver, triple-edged dagger. It slipped neatly into the boy's right hand as he gripped it firmly by the frictionless handle. He then held it high just directly above the terrified face of his struggling guest.

"Sleep tight," With that, the boy bent down and promptly stabbed straight through the person's agaped mouth. The blade continued and pierced through the hardwood flooring with no problem. The brunette's eyes grew half-lidded as he extracted his blade and twirled it around by the cross section, slipping it back underneath his sleeve like a sword to its sheath with his fingers.

He stood and breathed, uncaring eyes scanning the ruined room. There was overturned furniture and broken glass on the floor as far as the eye can see. With impatience did the teen hurriedly walk over to one door and fiercely punched forth, tearing it completely off from its hinges. This led him through a dark hallway area.

Upturned blues followed a flight of stairs and caught in time a leaping figure from the second floor. They swung on a hanging chandelier before wall jumping for the teen. However, the momentum wasn't too kind as the male easily sidestepped and kicked a small chair underneath the spot where the person was to land.

His prediction was on point as they landed on the back of the chair on their crotch. The blue-eyed teen followed up and kicked the chair to the ground, despite the added weight. Once on the floor, the person rolled and stood back up, gritting their teeth at the apathetic male.

"Upset over a little shortcoming?" He shot uncaringly. The person seethed a bit more before they reeled in fright of the boy's eyes now shining a more prominent, shining blue color in contrast to their regular hue.

As quick as his wit, the teen's left hand shot in front of him. The shadowed character was hurled back by an strong unforeseen force and crashed through a glass door that was the main entrance. Lowering his hand slowly, the boy's eyes simmered down and returned to their normal azure.

The anomaly fell backwards some more and findly tumbled over the porch and onto the grassy terrain outside. They screamed in anguish and, with haste, skedaddled like a bat out of hell. However, they crashed mid-run and fell against what seemed like a brick wall.

"I don't think an escape plan will work out this time around, especially nothing this pathetic," A blank voice spoke. They then were grabbed roughly by the face and cried in torment underneath the loud, piercing ringing noise. Their eyes and mouth bled a ton of blinding light before their limbs lost all of their feeling.

The brunette rudely pushed them to the side with a forearm, their person laid flat and motionless on their side. An apathetic gaze met with the unsightly demise before blinking idly and facing forward like nothing was wrong at all.

As his hands swung to his side idly, the trench-coated teen stood still and squinted his gaze. His eyes scanned the bare and quiet area illuminated by the moon above and behind him. The teen's shadow was casted on the front of the cabin while he turned around and walked away from the scene, leaving the bodies in his wake.

His stoic expression remained strong and cold as the crickets and owls' were loud tonight, the sound of wings flapping played in the air with the teen disappearing from the premises who left no trace of himself behind.


End file.
